Buying Fake Twitter Followers Isn’t Just for Politicians
Perhaps you seen in the news lately mention of political figures who have been questioned about purchasing fake Twitter followers to boost their numbers. This is a practice that has been growing in popularity for those who simply don’t want to do the work of social media or who apparently just need an ego boost. And if you think it is something only happening on the big brand and national political stage, think again. I ran a few of the popular local Twitter users through the app and was surprised by the findings.
Sure, buying fake followers is a quick way to boost your follower count on the surface, but the damage to your reputation when you are found out can be devastating. Clearly,this is something we would discourage any of our readers from even considering.
Finding the Fakes Just Got Easier
This week finding out who is purchasing fake accounts got a whole lot easier thanks to Status People’s new Fakers App. This app lets you type in your, or anyone else’s, twitter username and it evaluates the quality of their followers. While the app isn’t perfect in that it only evaluates a portion of your followers, it does a pretty good job of giving you a snapshot of your or someone else’s account. Here’s a snapshot of my results.
The Dark World of Paid Followers
Here’s an example of how blogger Zach Bussey dove into “the dark world of paid followers” and was able to set up a new account and get over 26,000 followers overnight. What’s interesting is with a few clicks you can also find out who else has purchased those same fake accounts.
It’s Not About The Numbers
Sure, having a large follower number is attractive, but that’s not the goal of social media. Large numbers don’t necessarily translate into increased interaction and more business. Especially if those followers aren’t real. What good does 20,000 or 2,000,000 followers do if none of them are talking with you, buying your products or giving to your cause. Absolutely none!
Social media has always, and will always be about connecting with your customers and donors in real ways that draw them to your brand and deepen their relationship with you. Purchasing fake followers not only doesn’t help you connect with current or potential customers, it can wreck your brand image and credibility when you are found out. And you will be found out.
How would your impression of a brand or individual change if you find out they have been purchasing fake Twitter followers?
About jeffabel
Question….at what percentage of fake followers would you become suspicious that a person has purchased a list? Does everyone have at least a few fake followers?
There are no clear cut lines at this point. Personally, I’d be a little suspicious at anything between 10-15% of fake accounts and anything higher than 20-25% of fake and inactive accounts. People with extremely large followings are more likely to pick up some of the fake accounts naturally since many could be spammer accounts. But with a large following, that should also help reduce the percentages. Anyone can have a few fake accounts following them, but if it rises much above the 5% line, I’d be suspicious. And if it were my account, I’d do a little inventory and clean out some of those accounts that are suspicious. The best option is when you encounter a spam account, report it and it is removed from your followers.